CHAPTER 2 : FIRST STEP TO KILL
866 Words
15th January.
The night of celebration turned into a memory carved in blood.
It was William’s birthday — and, as he used to joke, Cera’s too. She never knew the date she was born, so he decided they would share his. “We’ll celebrate together every year,” he said with that gentle smile. “You’re my family now.”
That night was supposed to be warm — filled with cake, laughter, and stories.
Cera had worn the new dress he gifted her, a soft lavender color that made her feel human again. She remembered how he had clapped when she stepped out, teasing, “My little sister looks like a princess.”
For once, life didn’t hurt.
Until it did.
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They were walking home after the celebration, the streets washed with the silver glow of streetlights. Cera walked a few steps ahead, humming quietly, swinging her hands in joy. She wanted to run home, try her dress again in the mirror, maybe save a piece of cake for breakfast.
Then it happened.
A group of late-teen boys appeared at the corner — loud, careless, the smell of alcohol heavy in the air. She accidentally bumped into one of them, and his eyes darkened, roaming where they shouldn’t.
She froze. Her throat tightened.
William noticed. He stepped forward instantly, his calmness replaced by something fierce. “Leave her,” he warned.
One boy chuckled. “It’s our road. Leave her here, and we’ll let you go.”
The punch came faster than their laughter.
William’s fist collided with the boy’s jaw, and chaos broke loose.
He fought like someone who had everything to lose.
But there were too many of them. Fists, kicks, curses — and then the flash of metal.
A gun.
The sound that followed wasn’t just loud — it broke the world.
William fell, his blood spilling across the pavement, staining her shoes, her dress, her birthday.
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Cera’s scream ripped through the night, desperate, raw.
The boys laughed — loud, careless, like they hadn’t just ended someone’s world.
And something inside her shattered.
The quiet child who once believed in love died with William.
The devil that had always whispered — the one she tried to silence — rose and took her place.
One of them grabbed her arm roughly. She twisted, teeth sinking into his skin until blood filled her mouth. He yelled, and she slipped free, falling beside William.
“Brother, please… please don’t leave me,” she cried, shaking him.
He smiled weakly, blood at his lips. “For your birthday… I give you this,” he whispered.
“What?” she sobbed.
“My wish… for you to grow, and be happy. Protect yourself. Never let this world destroy you.”
And then… silence.
Cera stopped breathing for a moment. The world stopped moving. The only thing left was the cold.
She looked at her hands, trembling — and picked up the knife lying near a fruit stall.
If God couldn’t give her happiness, then maybe the devil could.
She turned.
The boys were laughing again — until one fell.
The knife entered his chest cleanly.
The rest froze.
She stood there, face blank, eyes empty, blood dripping from the blade.
When one dared to move toward her, she met his gaze.
There was no fear.
Only fire.
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Gunshots echoed again — but not hers this time.
Someone else was there.
A man stepped out of the shadows, tall, dressed in black, his smirk cold.
His men surrounded the area, finishing what she started.
Cera didn’t move. She didn’t speak. She knelt beside William again, holding his hand until the warmth was gone.
The man walked up, boots echoing softly. He looked down at her — not with pity, not with kindness, but with interest.
“You’ve got courage,” he said slowly.
Cera stayed silent, her voice trapped somewhere deep inside her grief.
He waited for her to answer. She didn’t.
Finally, she whispered, “...I’m sorry.”
The man chuckled, low and amused. “You’ll need me one day,” he said, turning away.
“Remember me, Cera. In this world, only power matters. Those who have it can bend fate.”
And just like that, he was gone — leaving her in the middle of the blood and silence.
Cera sat there until dawn, the city waking slowly around her.
When she finally stood, she wasn’t the same girl anymore.
She was something the world had made — and would soon regret.
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Next Chapter Trailer — “The Death of Innocence”
“Take this, Cera.” The same man pressed a gun into her hands.
“If you kill him, I’ll make sure William rests peacefully.”
His voice was calm, cruel, and convincing.
He offered her a place — not a home, but a cage.
A new world of survival where love was weakness, and power meant life.
Cera was adopted again — not into a family, but into a war.
Where every day was a competition, every night a fight,
and every mission a step toward the monster they wanted her to become —
the Goddess of Death.
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- Writer
